The invention relates to a method of transmitting pictures by linewise scanning of the picture elements, the value of the scanning picture elements being quantized and represented as binary words which are converted into code words by means of a run length code, and also to arrangements for putting this method into effect.
The use of such a method for the transmission of facsimile pictures is disclosed in, for example, the DE-PS No. 23 61 234. In this prior art method the black/white values of the picture elments themselves are not transmitted, but the numbers or lengths of runs, of consecutive white picture elements an consecutive black picture elements respectively. The transmission by means of such so-called out-dimensional run length coding, results in a data reduction of on an average a factor of 10. However, the prior art methods are based on a black/white picture elements.
It is an object of the invention, also for the transmission of images which have a plurality of grey levels and/or colours, to provide a method of the type defined in the opening paragraph, with which a correspondingly simple and redundancy decreasing encoding is possible.